Who do you say that I am

Genesis 9:1-13; Psalm 102 From heaven the Lord looks down on the Earth; Mark 8:27-33

It is that time again.  Lent is right around the corner.  We should not wait until ash Wed to start preparing for our Lenten experience, our lenten retreat. 

Lent is a time of Spiritual training, a time to get "cut" in our spiritual muscle. 

How do we chisel our lives so that we might be shaped into christ more perfectly. 

The tools the church lays before us as the means by which we truly begin to answer the question Jesus poses in todays gospel, "who do you say that I am," with greater precision and accuracy and love are the following:

Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving.

The three tools enables us to detach ourselves from the world, empty ourselves so God alone can fill, grow more dependent on God's saving word, and enter more deeply into a true compassionate relationship with our neighbors. 

Prayer, fasting, and almsgiving restore friendship to Christ. 

As we prepare for lent may we ask the Lord what is the means by which he wants us to really train.